By Charles C. Haynes
First Amendment Center
At the tender age of 16, Jessica Ahlquist has already endured more verbal abuse than most people experience in a lifetime.

A high school student in Cranston, R.I., Ahlquist has been taunted and threatened at school, targeted by an online hate campaign, and called “an evil little thing” by a state representative on the radio.

An artist-entrepreneur, a nurse and an educator were named Roane State Community College’s 2011 Outstanding Alumni.

The recipients are Stephen Brown, creator of the popular giftware and lifestyles company Glitterville Studios, 1987 nursing graduate Ellen Kelly of Knoxville and longtime Scott County educator Mike Lay of Oneida. Each was honored for their achievements in their professions and in their communities.